That was enough to lift China’s total Q1 copper imports to 1.43 million tonnes — an increase of over 30 percent as compared to the year-ago period.

That news got the market excited, lifting the copper price off the $2.10 per pound mark where it had been languishing — and back toward $2.20. Stemming a decline in the price that had been in motion since late March.

That was a report from the Sydney Morning Herald that several Chinese miners are accelerating their hunt for copper assets. With the paper interviewing officials from PanAust — a former ASX firm, now controlled by Chinese conglomerate Guangdong Rising Asset Management — who said they’ve been given a mandate to go out and acquire copper projects globally.

And that’s not the only Chinese company apparently in the hunt for new projects. With the same report also noting that China Molybdenum Company is similarly seeking global copper assets for purchase.

All of which suggests that interest in copper is stronger than many investors believe right now. And we could see some big purchases coming — both in physical metal and in mines and development projects.